mirabai

Miras father arranged for her marriage with Rana Kumbha of Chitore, in Mewar. She was a dutiful wife, but she would go to the temple of Lord Krishna everyday to worship, sing and dance before the image daily. Her in-laws were furious. They planned many a conspiracy against her, and tried to involve her in many a scandal. She was persecuted in various ways by the Rana and his relatives. But Lord Krishna always stood by the side of Mira.

Finally, Mira wrote a letter to the renowned saint and poet Tulsidas and asked his advice. Tulsidas replied: Abandon them even though they are your dearest relatives. Relation with God and love of God alone is true and eternal; all other relationships are unreal and temporary. Mira walked barefoot through the hot deserts of Rajasthan, and reached Brindavan. Miras fame spread far and wide.A Life of Love amidst Trouble: Miras earthly life was full of troubles, yet she kept up an undaunted spirit by the strength of her devotion and the grace of her beloved Krishna. In her divine intoxication, Mira danced in public unaware of her surroundings. An embodiment of love and innocence, her heart was the temple of devotion for Krishna. There was kindness in her look, love in her speech, joy in her discourses, and fervor in her songs.

It was a rainy day in the summer of 2006. The 11th day of May showered unexpected cooling drops on the simmering city of Bengaluru in India. As the gathering of more than 4000 people in the Sai Ramesh hall at Brindavan felt the coolness in their bodies, a gentle music filled the air, announcing the arrival of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. The darshan and bhajan session was about to begin and everyone in the hall seemed to experience a cooling in their minds and hearts as well As I sat in the front with the students of the University, I was filled with joy and excitement at the sight of the figure in orange. Needless the say, the energy of the bhajan session went up several notches. Five bhajans later, Swami asked for the bhajans to be stopped. He beckoned to renowned singer, Begum Parveen Sultana who was seated on the ladies side. The ever-ready devotee that she is, she took the microphone and, saluting Swami, began singing. It was an excellent rendition which included a couple of Meera Bhajans (songs composed by the legendary devotee and singer, Meerabai). The session concluded after half an hour with Swami receiving the Aarthi.

I remember on another occasion, during another Trayee session, Swami had explained beautifully to Koustubh the meaning and emotion of every line of the song which he used to sing. In fact, it had been Swami who had inspired him to compose the tune for that bhajan in the Darbari raag. He explained about the climax of the song in this manner,Meerabai feels that her life is worthless if she is unable to glimpse her Lord Krishna. She rushes to the threshold of the sanctum and begins to bang her forehead on it. She implores to Krishna that she is His servant forever and curses her mind and intellect that are blinding her to her heart where her darling resides. She continues to bang her head...As Swami explained this to Koustubh, He moved His head vigorously to show how Meerabai banged her head! He seemed to be totally lost in her devotion. He continued to say,Instead of death, she gets the vision of Krishna. She feels she cannot live without Krishna but even Krishna cannot live without her...And there is a tear in the divine eye!I still remember, the very next day in Trayee Brindavan, a screening of the movie, Meera, with the legendary M.S.Subbalakshmi playing the lead role, was arranged. MS was an ardent devotee of Baba and Swami couldnt contain this double-devotee (Meera-MS) delight that the movie was. It was a moving session for all. It made my respect and awe for Meera grow. I wished to develop an iota of her love and pining - something which even the Lord thirsted for!As Koustubh confesses, many were the occasions when Swami had spoken to him about Meeras pining. And on every occasion when he sang, Swami made it a point to tell him,You are singing Meeras bhajan but you do not have those feelings.

Approximately 500 years ago, the kingdom of Rajasthan was the land of warriors, sages, sadhus, and kings. It was at this time; Princess Mirabai was born (1478). Her mother passed away when she was very young and her father, Ratan Singh, was very busy with the kingdom. Growing up at her grandfathers palace, Mirabai was deeply devoted to Krishna Bhagwan. After Mirabais grandfather passed away, her uncle became the new king. He arranged her marriage with Prince Bhoj Raj, the eldest son of Rana Sanga of the Rajput kingdom of Mewar. This was the most prominent and powerful Rajput kingdom in the early 16th century. But Mirabai was not interested in the status, rich silks, and jewels that her new family had to offer. She was interested instead, in performing bhakti of Shri Krishna, whom she referred to as Giridhar.

Mirabais new family viewed her intense devotion to God as a problem. She refused to worship her husbands family goddess because she only knew of one God

Mirabai, while not as well known as her contemporaries Kabir, Tulsi Das, and the blind poet Sur Das, was significant in her own right, and her songs of love and devotion for her lord Krishna became a unique contribution to the history of north Indian culture. One of the earliest poets known by name in Hindi literature, she lives in the minds and hearts of many through her songs, but also as a cultural and social dichotomy. Her name is still used to influence women; saying that a woman is like Mirabai means that she is unwomanly and destined for trouble if she does not straighten up and conform to tradition. Others might say that a woman is like Mirabai and mean that she is a free spirit with the strength of character to stand up for what she believes. As quoted on Sentient.org, Dhurvadas, writing in the 17th century said of Mirabai: Having forgotten her shyness, she worshiped Giridhar (Krishna). She no longer cared for her family honor. She was Mira, known throughout the world; she was a treasure of devotions. In bliss she visited beautiful Vrindaban. She danced with anklebells on her feet, and with castanets in her hands. In the purity of her heart, she met the devotees of God, and realized the pettiness of the world. Many may claim Mirabais essence to support their arguments, but none truly possess her.

Mirabai participated wholeheartedly in the Bhakti movement, which consisted of active devotion displayed and expressed through public, ecstatic, religious song and dance. The tolerant nature of this religious movement gave its members the ability to ignore the restrictions of caste, sex, and creed. This, in turn, allowed Mirabai to rise as a poet-saint through her songs. Mirabais poetry was written in the form of song verses known as padas and mystical love poems called bhajans. She is credited with creating a unique raga, or mode in which her songs were to be sung, that which was named after her: Miras Malar. Mirabai composed her songs in a combination of the Rajasthani and Braj Bhasa languages, but they have since been translated into Hindi, Rajasthani, and Gujarati.

There are anywhere from 400 to 1,300 songs attributed to Mirabai, but scholars believe she most likely composed somewhere between 103 and 200 padas. As a devotee of Krishna, she strove to celebrate her love for her god; to take credit for the composition of songs in his praise would have been considered an act of pride for a woman striving, ultimately, for a state of selflessness. As a result of this dynamic, it is difficult to arrive at a definitive account of those lyric poems actually written by Mirabai herself, compared to those attributed to her but not composed by her.Mirabais works were not recorded in writing for many reasons. As Nilsson explained, At the time Mira Bai lived, there were limited means to preserve manuscripts.

Mirabais birth has been estimated to have occurred in 1498, and her birthplace was Merta. Merta was an independent kingdom with a fortress city created by Mirabais grandfather, Rao Dudaji, and ruled by her father, Ratan Singh. The political and social climate during Mirabais lifetime was one of great unrest between the Muslim forces invading northern India and the Hindu population struggling to maintain their livelihoods and culture. Mirabais mother died when her daughter was a young child of perhaps four or five years old. With her father wrapped up in the responsibilities of war, following the death of her mother Mirabai was sent to live with her grandparents. As a Brahmin and a royal princess of Merta, the girl was educated at home, with particular attention paid to instruction in music. This grounding in music helps to explain the hypnotic simplicity of Mirabais later songs, which belied a thorough knowledge of musicality. Mirabais religious affinities are believed to have their roots in an event that occurred during her childhood with her grandparents. Her grandfather was a committed follower of the god Vishnu, and Mirabais childhood environment was one of religious piety and early praise of Krishna. Legend states that a traveling mendicanta religious beggarwas welcomed into the household, having with him a small idol of Krishna. Mirabai was instantly and deeply smitten with the idol, and cried for it once the mendicant had gone on his way. The mendicant was told in a vision to return to the house and give the idol to the little girl, which he did. From that day on, Mirabai is said to have kept the idol with her at all times and thus began her worship of Krishna.

In 1516, at the age of 18, Mirabai was given in marriage, perhaps against her will, to Bhoj Raj, crown prince of Mewar. Bhoj died of fatal battle wounds only five years later, in 1521. Mirabai welcomed widowhood as an opportunity to live as the devoted spouse of her divine lord Krishna. She dedicated her days to worshiping him and singing and dancing his praises. She also devoted her time and energies to caring for the religious poor, an open denial of her caste and her royal position. This activity was considered unbecoming of a highborn princess who was expected to be secluded and aloof and pay homage to the preferred goddess of her late husbands family, the destructive deity Kali. Mirabai considered Krishna to be her divine match. Her religious fervor did not sit well with her in-laws, and when she refused to commit satithe act of a newly widowed woman throwing herself on her late husbands funeral pyre and burning alivemultiple attempts were made on her life. The details of these attempts, while completely obscured in legend, are interesting nonetheless. In one story Mirabai was sent a basket of flowers with a poisonous snake hidden inside. The story related that when she took the basket and looked inside, the snake turned into a religious figurine. At another time her husbands family demanded that she drink a cup of poison in front of them as retribution for disrespecting her dead husband by refusing to commit sati as Rajput princesses were supposed to. Mirabai drank the poison, but remained unharmed. In a third story, when asked by her late husbands family to drown herself, she attempted to do so, but her body floated and did not sink. Still another tale tells of the princess being forced to lie on a bed of nails, but then arising unharmed. Each of these miraculous escapes were attributed to the intervention of Krishna and are believed to be Mirabais reward for her undying devotion.

Tired of her familys political maneuverings, Mirabai eventually left Mewar and returned to her childhood home of Merta. In Merta, however, the princess found herself facing more persecution, this time by an uncle who had taken control of the kingdom following the death of Mirabais father in battle. This uncle, like many others, objected to the young widows public displays of religious ardor and he made life difficult for her. She fled Merta and traveled to Vrindaban, the birthplace of Krishna, where she joined a religious community. It is believed that Mirabai spent her 30s as a wandering mendicant, finally moving to Dwarkaanother place with deep connections to the god Krishnaand dying there in 1547.As with her life, there are also many legends surrounding Mirabais death. The most famous story is that her late husbands family sent a group of high-ranking Brahmins to bring her back to Rajasthan. When Mirabai refused to return with them, the Brahmins threatened to fast until dead if she did not comply. Not wanting their deaths to be her responsibility, she asked if she might consult her lord Krishna, and disappeared into the temple. It is believed that Krishna allowed Mirabai to merge with him completely, and she became one with his temple statue, never to be seen again. Authored Spiritual-centered Poetry

Mirabai participated wholeheartedly in the Bhakti movement, which consisted of active devotion displayed and expressed through public, ecstatic, religious song and dance. The tolerant nature of this religious movement gave its members the ability to ignore the restrictions of caste, sex, and creed. This, in turn, allowed Mirabai to rise as a poet-saint through her songs. Mirabais poetry was written in the form of song verses known as padas and mystical love poems called bhajans. She is credited with creating a unique raga, or mode in which her songs were to be sung, that which was named after her: Miras Malar. Mirabai composed her songs in a combination of the Rajasthani and Braj Bhasa languages, but they have since been translated into Hindi, Rajasthani, and Gujarati.There are anywhere from 400 to 1,300 songs attributed to Mirabai, but scholars believe she most likely composed somewhere between 103 and 200 padas. As a devotee of Krishna, she strove to celebrate her love for her god; to take credit for the composition of songs in his praise would have been considered an act of pride for a woman striving, ultimately, for a state of selflessness. As a result of this dynamic, it is difficult to arrive at a definitive account of those lyric poems actually written by Mirabai herself, compared to those attributed to her but not composed by her.

Mirabais works were not recorded in writing for many reasons. As Nilsson explained, At the time Mira Bai lived, there were limited means to preserve manuscripts.

The turning point in Sant Mirabais life occurred when once Akbar and his court musician Tansen came in disguise to Chittor to hear Meeras devotional and inspiring songs. Both entered the temple and listened to Meeras soul - stirring songs to their hearts content. Before he departed, he touched the holy feet of Meera and placed a necklace of priceless gems in front of the idol as a present. Somehow the news reached the KumbhaRana that Akbar had entered the sacred temple in disguise, touched the feet of Sant Mirabai and even presented her a necklace. The Rana became furious. He told Sant Mirabai, Drown yourself in the river and never show your face to the world in future. You have brought great disgrace on my family.

Sant Mirabai obeyed the words of King. She proceeded to the river to drown herself. The names of the Lord Govinda, Giridhari, Gopala were always on her lips. She sang and danced in ecstasy on her way to the river. When she raised her feet from the ground, a hand from behind grasped her and embraced her. She turned behind and saw her beloved Giridhari. She fainted on him. After a few minutes she opened her eyes. Shri Krushna smiled and gently whispered: My dear Meera, your life with your mortal relatives is over now. You are absolutely free. Be cheerful. You are and have always been mine.

On Krushnas Janmashtami at the temple of Krushna. There was much happiness all around in the abode of the Lord. The light of the lamps, the sound of the bhajans and the energy from the devotees ecstasy were filling the air. With Tamburi in one hand and cymbals or chipla in the other, the great tapasvini was singing ecstatically with her Gopala smiling in front of her closed eyes. Meera stood up and danced with her song Mere Janama Maran ke sathee, and when the song ended, Kumbha gently approached her and requested her to come back. Meera said, Ranaji, the body is yours and you are a great devotee, but my mind, emotions and the soul are all His. I do not know what use I am to you in this state of mind.

Kumbha was moved and he started singing with her in unison. Meera rose up abruptly, stumbled and fell at the flowers on the feet of Giridhari. Oh, Giridhari, are you calling me, I am coming. Whilst Kumbha and the rest were watching in awe, there was a flash of lightning which enveloped Meera and the sanctum doors closed on their own. When the doors opened again, only Meeras saree was enveloping Shri Krushnas idol and her voice and the flute accompaniment were the only sounds that could be heard.